{"id":2305,"date":"2011-02-02T22:12:04","date_gmt":"2011-02-02T22:12:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.markwilson.co.uk\/blog\/?p=2305"},"modified":"2013-03-23T21:28:05","modified_gmt":"2013-03-23T21:28:05","slug":"what-might-windows-8-or-windows-next-bring-for-tabletsslates","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.markwilson.co.uk\/blog\/2011\/02\/what-might-windows-8-or-windows-next-bring-for-tabletsslates.htm","title":{"rendered":"What might “Windows 8” (or “Windows Next”) bring for tablets\/slates?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Once upon a time, Microsoft used to share information about developments in new versions of Windows with customers and partners. Then came Windows Vista (codenamed Longhorn), a project fraught with difficulties, and there was much consternation about cancelled functionality.\u00a0 So, for the next release (codenamed, and later released as, Windows 7, even though it’s only 6.1), Microsoft kept quiet, before shipping a very public beta and asking people for feedback, long after all the key decisions had been made!<\/p>\n

“Windows 8” looks to continue in the same vein – except that Microsoft won’t even tell us a codename – only making vague references to “the next version of Windows” or “Windows Next”. So, it’s hardly surprising that the tech media is trying to glean information about what the next release of Windows may have in store.\u00a0 And, as an MVP and an employee of a major global systems integrator (but speaking for myself of course – my views are personal and should not be interpreted as a statement on behalf of my employer), I can tell you it’s not just technology journalists and bloggers that want to know –\u00a0I want to be able to talk to customers about roadmaps but Microsoft is keeping schtum.<\/p>\n

So, when journalist, author, ZDNet blogger and long-time Microsoft commentator, Mary Jo Foley<\/a> ran a webcast this afternoon looking at Microsoft’s strategy for tablets\/slates “Windows 8”, I tuned in.\u00a0 Of course, it was nothing that Mary Jo hadn’t already written about – and it was purely speculative (albeit based on some good sources) but it’s the best we have to go on right now about what might be coming – and a good summary of the current situation.<\/p>\n

The following are my notes from the webcast.\u00a0 I may well look back in a year or so and laugh at how wrong we were (as I did with my tweets about the iPad from late-January 2010!) but I have a feeling that most, if not all, of this will come true.<\/p>\n

It was interesting to see what people think about the market for slates\/tablets.\u00a0 Based on a poll taken during the call: 13% think that Apple owns the market [as of now, they do – but that could still change]; 8% think it’s overrated and will slip away like netbooks [unlikely – have you seen the sales figures for the iPad?]; 22% think the market is in its infancy and will hurt PC sales [definitely nascent; but I generally see slates as additive, rather than alternatives to PCs]; and the vast majority (57%) think the market is in its infancy but that there is room for Android and Windows “pads”.\u00a0 Based on those figures (which are far from scientific, and likely to be skewed in Microsoft’s favour given Mary Jo’s readership) Microsoft has not completely lost its chance to ship a decent tablet but it’s clear there is still a lot of work to do – and a lot of unknowns.<\/p>\n

So what about Windows 7 slates? It’s difficult for me to comment on this, for professional reasons (although I have previously written about how Steve Ballmer told me what to do with my iPad<\/a>) but Mary Jo Foley is not a fan. She sees some interesting designs, but considers them to be generally pricey, not portable enough, with poor battery life and not true iPad competitors. [For what it’s worth, I can’t argue with any of that.]<\/p>\n

And what’s the difference between a slate and tablet? Not a lot.\u00a0 Microsoft likes to talk about tablets – they see a\u00a0stylus as a differentiator but the two terms are used interchangably by analysts and media – like notebooks and laptops (or twenty-eleven and two-thousand-and-eleven).<\/p>\n

On Windows 8, Microsoft has said nothing – although they have spoken of “the next version of Windows”.\u00a0 That could be Windows 8, or it could be something else (Windows Compact Embedded?) but is really likely to be a successor to Windows 7.<\/p>\n

Microsoft has accidentally leaked information about “Windows Next” in job advertisements, blog posts, leaked slides from confidential presentations to OEMs. Some of the information gleaned includes references to\u00a0identifying modern form factors to target and optimise for:<\/p>\n